CAST 2013

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena California develops unmanned spacecraft to explore our solar system. Each of the spacecraft is unique and its software is unique. Spacecraft are limited systems with a finite amount of power, fuel, data storage, etc. The various spacecraft have their own flight software that commands it and ground software that evaluates the commands that are sent to the spacecraft to make sure that they do not damage the spacecraft. All of this software is extensively tested because if it doesn’t work, the spacecraft could be destroyed. Not only would billions of dollars be lost, but the scientific discoveries that the spacecraft would obtain are lost as well. Software testing is crucial and the lesson learned is “Test as you fly; Fly as you test”. What that slogan means varies depending on the type of software involved. This presentation will discuss the various types of software and the types of testing required to be able to assert that the software is tested as you fly and the spacecraft software is flown as you test. In addition, videos of the spacecraft and its mission will be shown to help with understanding the task and to demonstrate how the various types of software are used, and tested as well as the goals/purposes of that software.